The troubled harmonies that immediately greet us in the opening song suggest that the soul’s rest of the title will be hard won. They’re so dark, and the rhythm is of a weary trudge. The rest of the song goes between that sense of unrest and the hope of peace.
When turbulent, the orchestra is unleashed in mature Straussian style (bearing in mind he orchestrated it much later). Equally typical is his motif for drops of sunlight that reach through the leaves: shining staccato notes on bright instruments. Interestingly, this motif will recur in the song he was to write at the end of his life, ‘At Sunset’, this time broader and more settled, and marking a direct thematic parallel.
Cäcilie opens with an exultant chord that launches urgent lines in both the accompaniment and voice. Everything is charged with the excitement of ‘burning kisses’. The final verse is ecstatic in a different way, though, finding a new, almost hymn-like breadth to speak of love being blessed by God.
The third song captures the hubbub of a champagne party with busy arpeggios, but the small complicit moments as the ‘secret promise’ is made are also there: the wink, the smile, both captured in little gestures and slight pauses. There is lovely story-telling throughout, from the hushed invitation to the garden set on pulsing strings, to the soaring high notes as the couple’s love is consumed in the final phrases.
Morning seems held in a quiet rapture that’s inimitably Straussian, somehow. The chamber accompaniment is restrained and tender throughout, and the harmonies gently yearn. The voice is placed in a radiant register, but not forced too high. Everything speaks of quiet contentment and of looking forward to that shared silence as the couple look across the sea.
*Please note: Social Distancing guidelines were adhered to at all times during the filming of this video. Any persons closer than 2m are from the same household.
